Why hire a fractional user researcher?
Over the 15 years I’ve been a user researcher, I’ve seen user research establish itself as an essential tool of decision makers in organisations of all sizes.
In 2010s, the emergence of product-led growth and design-driven companies like Airbnb, Uber, and Slack helped elevate the importance of user research within organisations. The scope of user research expanded beyond just usability testing.
Researchers began conducting more strategic research to inform product direction and business strategy demonstrated how deep user understanding could drive product success, leading many other companies to invest more heavily in research capabilities.
User research methods and data collection evolved with technology. Remote research tools became more sophisticated, allowing researchers to conduct studies at scale as it was easier gather both qualitative and quantitative data. Mobile ethnography and diary studies became more feasible as smartphones became ubiquitous.
Research became more integrated in product and service development with researchers embedded in product teams. This helped make research more iterative and impactful.
The concept of "democratising research" emerged, where researchers began training other team members in basic research skills while maintaining oversight of research quality.
In 2020s, we have seen these trends continue with a growing demand for user research expertise to deliver customer insights to help decision makers reduce risk and make the right strategic decisions.
Democratisation of research, together with the establishment of ‘Continuous Discovery’ practices in product development, has lead to product designers, product managers, and marketers conducting user research. This trend has increased the impact of research. Maze’s Future of User Research - Trends for 2024 and Beyond found organisations with democratised research are twice as likely to see research influence strategic decisions.
The rise of PWDRs (people who do research) together with shrinking budgets has meant organisations have made teams leaner to reduce overhead costs. This has lead to many full-time user researchers being laid-off. This shift has meant the value of user researchers as strategic partners and educators (not just as practitioners) is being overlooked.
Their specialist skills and expertise are still vital so organisations can ensure the rigour of the research conducted with customers and the quality of insights delivered
Teams don’t have expert support to allow them to continue to improve research practices and implement new processes to leverage their research insights
There is often an over-reliance on quantitative metrics, such as analytics and survey data. Quantitative data shows what customers do, but not why they do it or how they feel about it.
Fortunately, fractional models of hiring have emerged to allow organisations access these specialised skills at a reduced cost. Currently, 25% of U.S. businesses have adopted fractional hiring, with projections showing this figure will rise to 35% by 2025.
Hiring a fractional user researcher offers several advantages:
Cost-effectiveness: Get research expertise without the full-time salary and benefits commitment
Flexibility: Scale research up or down based on project needs
Experience: Access senior-level expertise that might be unaffordable in a full-time role to prioritise and plan research studies
Fresh perspective: Benefit from their experience to support and training employees in all aspects user research
Effectiveness: Ensure the quality of the research being done
AI: Help teams to integrate AI tools into their research frameworks
Speed: Start research initiatives quickly
This approach is suitable to for early-stage start-up and scale-ups, small to medium sized companies without dedicated research teams and those organisations with fluctuating research needs. If your organisation could benefit from fractional research support, let’s chat.
